Junior Senior

An energetic blend of rock, hip-hop, and dance-pop made Junior Senior a U.K. darling in the early 2000s, but the duo's collective heart remained ensconced in Jutland -- the band's homeland in the western peninsula of Denmark. Seeds for the group's formation were first planted in 1995, following the dual departures of Jesper "Junior" Mortensen and Jeppe "Senior" Laursen from the Copenhagen-based indie band Ludo-X. Three years later, Junior Senior took shape and inked a deal with the Danish label Crunchy Frog. The two went on to record the infectious single "Move Your Feet," which became the most played song in Denmark and eventually took over European radio. A critically lauded full-length album, D-D-D-Don't Stop the Beat, followed in 2003. After garnering a fair amount of success with the album worldwide (and placing songs in Looney Tunes: Back in Action and the Amanda Bynes film She's the Man), the dance-pop duo retreated to Denmark and released a follow-up album, Hey Hey My My Yo Yo, in August 2005, again on Crunchy Frog. Although the album reached number two on the Japanese charts and the song "Can I Get Get Get" was aired on an episode of the hit TV show Ugly Betty, it took two years until a U.S. label (Ryko) issued the album stateside. ~ James Christopher Monger & Tim Sendra